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5 Important Elements of Typography

NicoleLegault1's avatar
NicoleLegault1
Community Member
10 years ago

How many courses can you think of that contain zero text? Probably none. Text is one of the primary ways we convey information in e-learning. With that in mind, let’s review some basic elements of typography for when you’re formatting the text in your next course.

Font Style

It’s important to remember that specific fonts work better than others for certain topics or subjects. A gamified e-learning module for teens on a lighthearted subject could make use of a whimsical handwritten font, but that same font would not work as well for serious finance-themed content. Your font style should match your subject matter. If you’re unsure which fonts work with your subject matter, do a keyword search and look at images related to your topic to see what types of fonts commonly crop up.

If you’re going to mix multiple font styles, it’s important that they enhance each other. Follow these simple guidelines for mixing and matching.

Do

Don’t

  • Pick fonts that balance each other out
  • Select fonts that are easy to read
  • Choose fonts that allow for proper capitalization
  • Use decorative fonts for headings; simple fonts for body text
  • Pick fonts that compete for attention
  • Use fonts that are difficult to read
  • Use fonts that are too similar
  • Mix and match more than two fonts


Line Spacing

Line spacing is important, which is why Storyline 360 offers you the option to set specific line spacing. There’s no need to leave the default spacing as is; you have the flexibility to customize down to the pixel. Fine-tune your line spacing to ensure everything is spaced evenly and consistently, with a nice amount of white space all around.

Font Size

This is a straightforward point, but one that’s especially important. Make sure that all your course text is large enough for learners to read easily. Remember that when something is written in bigger letters, it stands out and helps learners take notice, so be sure to put important information in larger letters (in moderation, of course!).

Alignment

Those with a keen eye for design can spot alignment issues from a mile away. An easy way to help solve your alignment issues is to use grids and guides in your designs to ensure your text is lined up.

Another important tip is to remember that left-aligned text is much easier to read than centered text. Now, it’s usually no biggie for learners to scan a center-aligned photo caption or button text and get what it means, but anything more than a single sentence, such as paragraphs or bodies of text, should be left-aligned in your courses.

You should also try to stick with one type of alignment and be consistent with it throughout your design.



Keep these important tips in mind the next time you choose fonts and add type to your e-learning designs. Typography has a big impact on how polished and professional the final output will look.

Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.

Published 10 years ago
Version 1.0
  • AngelaCarey's avatar
    AngelaCarey
    Community Member
    One thing I try to get away from is the gray font. I know it's all the rage and super pretty and all...but my learners are older and a lot of them have trouble with low contrast. It's a shame that Rise & Storyline templates default to grey font - I always have to update all my fonts.
    • NicoleLegault1's avatar
      NicoleLegault1
      Community Member
      Thanks for sharing your comment, Angela! It's true that contrast is so important for readability!
    • NinaHutchinson's avatar
      NinaHutchinson
      Community Member
      I agree, Angela. Having recently had cataract surgery, I can see lower contrast better now, but as the cataracts slowly grew, I had a hard time figuring out why I was having trouble reading things. Low contrast is a real problem for older adults, many of whom have cataracts "sneaking up on them".
      The other contrast issue that I still fight with is on my Surface Pro. The shut down and other screens are pale teal-blue with SMALL WHITE font. It's pretty, but has very low usability.
  • PunamParab's avatar
    PunamParab
    Community Member
    I liked your idea about using grids for aligning text. Thanks for posting the article.
  • LauraSemethy's avatar
    LauraSemethy
    Community Member
    I appreciate the information in this article. Thank you. We are in the process of creating a new eLearning template and have been looking at the Articulate Storyline templates. Regular text is always size 12 in all templates. Isn't that too small? What are your thoughts about this? Can you explain why Articulate templates are all in size 12 font? With more text than I would put on a slide?
    • NicoleLegault1's avatar
      NicoleLegault1
      Community Member
      Hi Laura! thanks for your comment! When you publish to the new modern player, the course will scale up to fill the browser, and the 12pt font size text should remain crisp and readable. If you want to edit the text font size in your project, you can make it any size you want! It's also up to you to decide how you much text and content you want to put on each slide :)